Said link



(No Model.)

J. SGHUSTER Sn L. W. LINK.

EGG HOLDER FOR TESTING EGGS. No. 460,891. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC JACOB SCHUSTER AND LOUIS \VM. LINK, OFCINCINNATI, OHIO; SAID LINK ASSIGNOR TO SAID SCIIUSTER; SAID SCIIUSTERASSIGNOR OF TIVO-THIRDS TO COSSMAN 8t BANKER, OF SAME PLACE.

EGG-HOLDER FOR TESTING EGGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 110,460,891, dated October6, 1891.

Application filed February 13, 1891. Serial No. 381.367. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that WQ, JACOB SCHUSTER and LOUIS VM. LINK, both citizens ofthe United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inEgglIolders for Testing Eggs; and We do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en- I0able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention has relation to that class of egg-testers in which thecharacter of the egg is shown on a mirror within the body of the testerby causing the light to pass into said tester through the egg; and itconsistsin certain novel features in the construction there'- of,substantially as hereinafter set forth and claimed. I'Ieretofore suchdevices have been provided with circular openings, some lined withrubber bands serving as cushions for the eggs and some without suchlinings, within which openings the eggs are placed; but they have allproved deficient in their operation in relying solely on the egg forclosing the opening, (it being of course understood that any leakage oflight, no matter how slight, around the eggs destroys the testingquality of the device for that egg,) as eggs vary both in size andshape, and it is impossible to entirely close a true circular opening byan egg not of a true circular shape.

The principal object of our invention is, therefore, to provide suchtesters with elastic means-which will accommodate themselves to andtightly embrace eggs of any shape or size,

whereby there will be no possibility of leakage into the device of lightaround the egg, and the device will thus act perfectly on all eggs,whether the same be of true circular shape or not, or large or small insize.

A further object of the invention is to construct an egg-tester of thecharacter set forth, which, by reason of the quickness with which theeggs may be manipulated, will readily adapt it'for use in warehouses,commissionhouses, and stores, where rapidity is essential, and willalso, by reason of its simplicity of construction and the cheapness withwhich it may be manufactured, be adapted for use in private dwellings.

These objects are accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of thede vice, showing the samein use. Fig. isa partial section through thetop on a line passing through one of the holes.

4E designates a box, preferably oblong in shape, which has its topperforated by two circular openings 5. These openings are made largerthan the largest eggs, and within them and projecting above them arerings 8, which are fully described hereinafter. That part of the top ofthe box adjoining one of the longer sides thereof, and the top of suchside adjacent to the top of said box, are cut away through their entirelength, in order to provide an observation-opening 6. The inside of thebottom of the box is covered with a mirror 7, the reflecting side ofwhich is turned up toward the top. In order to intensify the darkness ofthe interior of the box the whole inside thereof, with the exception ofthe mirror, is painted black.

8 designate rubber rings, through which the eggs are passed vertically.Each of these rings is formed with a horizontal portion 11, which isdesigned to rest on that portion of the top of the box surrounding theopening therein, a downwardly-projecting portion 10, which is in contactwith the wallof said opening and serves as a cushion for the egg,preventing liability of breakage thereof, and an upwardlyprojecting thinpliable featheredge 9, which readily yields to any shape of egg, nomatter how irregular the same may be, and snugly surrounds it above thetop of the box, thereby completely shutting out the light except throughthe egg, and adapting the device to perfect operation without regard 5to the size or shape of the egg, the advantages of which will be readilyseen and appreciated by those familiar with this class of invention.

Each of the rings therefore serves as a combined cushion andlight-excluder.

In the operation of the device the box is of course turned so that theobservation-opening is placed away from the light and toward theoperator. An egg being placed in position the light can only enter thebox through it, and if the egg is goodalight circular image will bereflected on the mirror, as indicated in Fig. 1, as such egg istranslucent, while if the egg is bad the light will be almost entirelyexcluded and no image will be percep'tible on the mirror, as such egg iswholly or nearly opaque.

The construction above set forth being favorable to produce an almostintense darkness within the box, the lighter image will be much moredistinct, permitting theoperat-or to see in an instant the character ofthe egg. The observation-opening, extending from end to end of the box,is also another material aid in the rapid judging of eggs, as it permitshim to easily see the mirror without having to change his position orturn his head toand fro. Providing the device with but two egg-openingsis another aid to the quick testing of the egg, as said eggs have onlyto be manipulated once, by reason of the fact that the operator need notremove his hands from the eggs during observation thereof, instead ofrequiring double handling, as is nec-* essary where more than twoopenings are used,- in which case all the openings have to befi-lled inorder toproduce a dark box.

The combined cushions and light-exclnders 8, above described, preferablyincline inward both above and below its center in order to approximateto the shape of the egg.

NVe are aware that egg-testers having observation-openings,egg-openings, and a mirror withinit arenotbroadlynew,and,further,that

eggtesters have been interiorly painted black to intensify the darknesswithin it, and also tthat they have been provided with rubber bands as alining for the Walls of the eggopening. Such constructions we thereforedo not broadly claim as our invention.

Having described our invention, we claim as new The herein-describedegg-tester, consisting of a box having an observation-opening along itsfront upper edge and an egg-opening in its top, a combined cushion andlight-excluder made of flexible material and having an opening for thereception of the egg, a

horizontal outwardlyextending projection adapted to rest on the top ofsaid box around said opening, a part extending downward I into saidopening from said horizontal projection and serving as the cushion, andan upwardly-projecting thin pliable featheredge adapted to receive andclosely embrace above the top of said box any size and shape of egg, anda mirror within said box beneath

